Abdullah Sarwar

Dr. Abdullah Sarwar

Marketing, Multimedia University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

15Years (2012-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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9 March 2015 in Journal of Islamic Marketing
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
AHAhasanul Haque
Ahasanul Haque
ASAbdullah Sarwar
Abdullah Sarwar
FYFarzana Yasmin
Farzana Yasmin
ATArun Kumar Tarofder
Arun Kumar Tarofder
MHMirza Ahsanul Hossain
Mirza Ahsanul Hossain
Purpose: – This study aims to identify the factors that influence Malaysian non-Muslim consumers’ perception towards buying halal food products. Design/methodology/approach: – A structured close-ended questionnaire was used for data collection through a random distribution to 500 non-Muslim consumers from various states in Malaysia. Findings: – Using SPSS package, the factor analysis was able to identify three main variables. Later, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. This study has indicated that the perception of non-Muslim consumers about halal food products is influenced by their attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, specifically in the context of Malaysia. Research limitations/implications: – This finding will help both the academics and the industry food makers in understanding the perception of non-Muslim consumers towards the concept of halal food products. Practical implications: – The outcome of the study can serve as a useful reference to relevant Malaysian statutory bodies on the current perception of the Malaysian non-Muslim consumers towards Malaysian halal agenda. This will also help the industry food makers to serve their customers better as well as maximize their profit through a well-planned marketing campaign. Social implications: – It prepares a sound basis for Malaysian policymakers to promote the involvement of Malaysian non-Muslim entrepreneurs within the halal food service industry with the intent of improving the socio-economic strata of its participants and, at the same time, fulfilling their religious obligations in providing halal foods for fellow Muslims. Originality/value: – Because very few researches have studied non-Muslim consumers’ perception towards halal food products, the development of halal food theory will help in capitalizing the practices in non-Muslim countries.

1 July 2020 in Journal of Islamic Marketing
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
NKNasreen Khan
Nasreen Khan
ASAbdullah Sarwar
Abdullah Sarwar
BTBooi Chen Tan
Booi Chen Tan
Purpose: Halal cosmetic products are considered as innovation and revolution in the cosmetic industry as they offer high-quality products that follow the halal compliance and meet the strict scientific guidelines. However, halal cosmetic brands are still facing challenges in their positioning and are unable to identify how to encourage customers to buy. Although there is an increasing awareness towards the use of halal cosmetics among the Generation Y consumers, the factors that might stimulus their purchase intention of halal cosmetics is still ambiguous. Besides, there is a lack of well-established study on the role of religious belief as a predictor to Generation Y consumers’ purchase intention. To address the gap, this study aims to propose a model to reveal the distinctive factors that influence the purchase intention of halal cosmetics among Generation Y in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: The population for this study consisted of Generation Y consumers. A closed-ended questionnaire was used for data collection from a sample of 262 respondents. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings: This study discovered that ingredient safety followed by the halal logo is very important predictor for the purchase intention of halal cosmetic products among Generation Y consumers. Unexpectedly, this study finds that religious belief plays the least important role in purchase intention. Research limitations/implications: This study fills the gap in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) by improving its limitation through considering the unbiased determinant of behaviour i.e. religious belief. Practical implications: This study recommends cosmetics companies to position their products based on the importance of safety ingredient with halal logo as unique attributes of the product. It also suggests marketers to understand the right promotion strategy to be used in targeting the right market segment. Originality/value: TPB is only based on cognitive processing and it ignores one’s needs/motivations prior to engaging in certain behaviour. Hence, this study looks into religious belief as a means of motivation and one of the important determinants of TPB.

23 August 2021 in British Food Journal
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
BTBooi Chen Tan
Booi Chen Tan
TLTeck Chai Lau
Teck Chai Lau
ASAbdullah Sarwar
Abdullah Sarwar
NKNasreen Khan
Nasreen Khan
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose a research framework to examine the effects of consumer consciousness, food safety concern and healthy lifestyle on the attitudes toward eating “green” simultaneously in a single study. Besides, the mediating role of healthy lifestyle in forming a positive attitude toward eating “green” is also examined in this study.Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire-based approach was applied in this study. The unit of analysis was individual consumer (aged 18 years and above) who lived in Klang Valley, Malaysia. PLS-SEM was used to test the structural relationship of the constructs in the model based on the 300 useable data collected.Findings: The results indicated that health consciousness, food safety concern and healthy lifestyle have a significant effect on attitudes toward eating “green”, whereas environmental and price consciousness did not have such effect. A healthy lifestyle also mediates the relationship between health consciousness and attitude toward eating “green”. An individual’s healthy lifestyle that focused on physical health-related activities will increase the effect of consumer health consciousness on their attitudes toward eating “green”.Practical implications: The outcome of this study provided deeper insights for firms to assess the feasibility of entering or expanding their operations in the green market with more enduring and effective sales and marketing strategies.Originality/value: Consumers’ acceptance of or resistance toward organic food had become the centre of the research focus by the academician and the industrial practitioners over the years, despite the inconsistencies of the results obtained to predict such behavior. In this study, besides examining the direct effect of the proposed variables on the attitudes toward eating “green”, the mediating role of a healthy lifestyle in forming such attitudes was also examined.

TSTajneen Saleh
Tajneen Saleh
ASAbdullah Sarwar
Abdullah Sarwar
MIMD AMIRUL ISLAM
MD AMIRUL ISLAM
MUHAMMAD MOHIUDDINMUHAMMAD MOHIUDDIN
MUHAMMAD MOHIUDDIN
ZSZhan Su
Zhan Su
Employees working under conscientious leadership perceive their leaders as ethical leaders. This study investigates the conscientiousness of leaders as an essential trait of ethical leadership and the relationship between ethical leadership and employee-turnover intention. Additionally, we study the potential mediating roles of the individual-level ethical climate (self-interest, friendship, and personal morality) as well as the level of employees’ emotional exhaustion that contribute to the decision-making process of turnover intention. Building on social learning and social exchange theories, outcomes from nine industrial manufacturing organizations comprising 260 subordinates’ responses show that leaders’ conscientiousness is positively related to ethical leadership and negatively associated with employees’ turnover intention. Consistent with this hypotheses, results found that, in an individual-level ethical climate, employees experience diminished emotional exhaustion. The relationships are found to mediate between ethical leadership and turnover intention in manufacturing organizations. Additionally, it was also found that individual-level ethical climates cause a relatively positive impact on employees’ emotional exhaustion leading them to lower turnover intention.

3 November 2025 in Tourism and Hospitality
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
HOHayford Asare Obeng
Hayford Asare Obeng
ASAbdullah Sarwar
Abdullah Sarwar
RARichard Arhinful
Richard Arhinful
LMLeviticus Mensah
Leviticus Mensah
Sustainability has become a significant concern in the tourism and hospitality industries. There is an increasing emphasis on how a company’s operations and employees influence customer experiences and value. This study employed the Social Exchange Theory to investigate the impact of sustainability-oriented practices on customer-perceived values, with pro-environmental work behavior serving as a mediator. Data obtained from employees in the tourism and hospitality sector in Ghana were analyzed using Harman’s single factor test in SPSS version 24 and partial least squares structural equation model in SMARTPLS version 4. The study revealed that sustainability-oriented practices significantly enhance both perceived customer values and pro-environmental work behavior. Further, pro-environmental work behavior was found to have a significant influence on customer-perceived values. Finally, the study revealed that pro-environmental work behavior partially mediated the positive relationship between sustainability-oriented practices and customer-perceived values. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating employee-driven environmental behaviors into sustainability initiatives, offering both theoretical insights through the Social Exchange Theory and practical guidance for enhancing customer value in the hospitality industry.

24 June 2025 in Sustainable Futures
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
ASAysa Siddika
Aysa Siddika
ASAbdullah Sarwar
Abdullah Sarwar
MTMohammad Ali Tareq
Mohammad Ali Tareq
HRH.M. Mahfuzur Rahman
H.M. Mahfuzur Rahman
RHRazali Haron
Razali Haron